JPH1158685A - Squeegee unit for screen printing - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a squeegee unit for screen printing for stabilizing a printing operation by performing a continuous operation for a long period and homogenizing to improve a printing accuracy. SOLUTION: The squeegee unit for screen printing comprises an elastic or flexible cylindrical or bag-like container 7 having a printing material squeegee 3 mounted at one end and contained in a sealable chamber 15 of a housing 4, and a fluid pressure generator such as a hydraulic cylinder 13 or the like adjustable at pressure in the chamber 15 to positive or negative predetermined pressure provided in the housing 4. In this case, the container 7 is pressed by positive pressure in the chamber 15 to squeeze out the material 9, and the material 9 in the container 7 is kneaded by repeating expanding and pressing.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a squeegee apparatus for screen printing, and more particularly, to a container formed of an elastic or flexible material which is housed in a housing, and the air pressure in the room is increased to shrink the container. By doing so, a highly viscous printing material is squeezed out.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art It is well known that screen printing is used as a method of printing an electronic circuit pattern on an insulating substrate. In this screen printing, a screen placed on an insulating substrate to be printed and a predetermined amount of a printing material such as a solder paste running on the screen are applied to the screen, and the printing material is passed through the screen. It is well known that a squeegee device that acts as a spatula is used to press on an insulating substrate. The screen is made of stainless steel mesh or the like.

[0003] A predetermined electronic circuit pattern composed of a printing material is printed on an insulating substrate by a squeegee device, and the electronic circuit pattern is formed by printing holes formed in a screen. The printed insulating substrate is separated from the screen and heated to dry and fix the printed electronic circuit pattern.

In this squeegee apparatus, a printing material is stored in a substantially triangular space formed by two plates having a width substantially equal to the width of the screen, and the printing material is formed at the lower end of the plate. Then, it is configured to fall naturally from the slit located at the vertex of the substantially triangle toward the screen.

[0005]

However, in the conventional squeegee device, the royalties fall naturally from the slits. If the viscosities of the royalties are high, the squeegee is left to fall naturally. In particular, in the case of long-term continuous printing, for example, it is difficult for the printing material to uniformly and uniformly fall over the entire width of the slit, which may cause printing unevenness. Work anxiety arises, such as the need to constantly monitor.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a squeegee apparatus for screen printing which can be operated continuously for a long period of time, and which can improve and homogenize the printing accuracy and stabilize the printing operation.

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a screen printing squeegee apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an elastic or flexible container having a royalty squeegee attached to one end is formed in a housing. A squeegee is housed in a possible room, the squeegee is projected downward from the housing, and a fluid pressure generating device capable of changing the pressure in the room to a required positive or negative pressure is provided.

Therefore, when the pressure in the chamber of the housing increases, the container is squeezed and contracted, so that the printing material can be squeezed out of the printing material squeegee.

According to the present invention, the cylindrical container having elasticity or flexibility has one end opening connected to the printing material supply port, and the other end opening connected to the printing material squeegee, and housed in the housing. A supply / discharge pipe is provided in the chamber, which extends the squeegee downward from the housing, and is connected to an elastic bag capable of inflating and contracting so as to be able to contact and separate from the container. And a fluid pressure generator for supplying and discharging the fluid.

Therefore, when the elastic bag expands in the chamber of the housing, the tubular bag is squeezed and contracted by the elastic bag, and the printing material is squeezed out of the printing material squeegee.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect, the plurality of elastic bags are arranged in the housing in a stepwise manner in the longitudinal direction of the container, and the elastic bags are inflated from the upper stage to the lower stage or in the reverse order. And shrinkage enabled.

Therefore, when the elastic bag expands sequentially from the upper stage to the lower stage, the cylindrical container is sequentially squeezed from the upper stage to the lower stage, and the printing material in the cylindrical container moves from the upper stage toward the printing squeegee. In addition, when the elastic bag is successively expanded from the lower stage to the upper stage as appropriate, the printing material in the cylindrical container is kneaded.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIG. 1, a housing 4 having a squeegee squeegee 3 is supported by a screen printing machine or the like (not shown) above a screen 2 placed on an insulating substrate 1 or the like set on the screen printing machine. To be movable in the horizontal direction in the figure.

The housing 4 is a housing that can be hermetically sealed by forming a pair of housings 5 and 50 having a U-shaped cross section with their concave sides facing each other. A guide rod 5 a and a guide hole 5 are provided on the opposite sides of the housings 5 and 50. 5b, the hydraulic cylinder 6 and the piston 6a acting as clamps
The seal packing 5 is detachably connected to the seal packing 5.
A housing capable of sealing the inside of the chamber 15 with the c interposed is formed, and the elastic or flexible container 7 is housed in the chamber 15 of this housing. The hydraulic cylinder 6 is provided not only on the upper part of the housing as shown in the figure, but also on both side surfaces of the lower part of the housing, not shown, and is further connected to a servomotor instead of the hydraulic cylinder 6 and the piston so as to be able to advance and retreat therefrom. It may be a rod that has been used.

The container 7 is made of nylon or P.I. so that when the printing material 9 such as ink or solder paste is stored and pressed, it is not easily ruptured and damaged. It is formed in a tubular body or a bag-like body closed at one end made of a synthetic resin such as P or an elastic or flexible material such as rubber. When the container 7 is a cylindrical body, one end is connected to the royalties supply port 10 formed in the frame 5, and the other end is connected to the squeegee squeegee 3 penetrating between the frames 5 and 50 and protruding toward the screen 2. It is connected by an adhesive or the like as appropriate, or is removably connected in the form of a cassette that engages unevenly like a seal fastener. In addition,
The container 7 in the form of a bag is in the form of a cassette in which a predetermined amount of royalties 9 are stored, and the closed one end of the bag is appropriately fixed to the royalties supply port 10 side, and the royalties are attached to the other end. The squeegee 3 is connected.

The printing material supply port 10 is connected to the printing material tank 8 via a valve chamber 12 having a check valve such as a ball 11. Although not shown, an opening in parallel with the royalties supply port 10 is formed in the container 7, and a structure similar to the valve chamber 12 having a check valve is provided in the frame 5. The openings 7 may be connected to remove air bubbles that may be included depending on the printing material. The printing material 9 stored in the printing material tank 8 is supplied to the container 7 by natural flow or by applying an appropriate pressure to the printing material tank 8. Although the royalties tank 8 is appropriately supported and attached to the housing 5, the royalties tank 8 may be guided by a flexible pipe from the royalties tank 8 appropriately supported by a screen printing machine or the like. When it is necessary to control the temperature of the printing material 9, although not shown, a temperature control device is provided in the chamber 15, and a temperature control device such as a diode or a heater is also provided in the printing material tank 8.

The royal squeegee 3, as shown in FIG.
A substantially triangular shape is formed by two thin plates 3a, 3a or the like made of a thin resin, carbon or metal having a predetermined length and width, and the right and left sides thereof are brought into contact with the side plate 3b to close and open the bottom side. The apex corresponding to this is formed so as to be a slit 3c, in which the printing material 9 is accommodated and pushed out from the slit 3c to the outside. The plates 3a, 3a are appropriately joined or connected to the housings 5, 50 at least at the upper part. Therefore, the slit 3c
By adjusting the distance between the housings 5 and 50 with the hydraulic cylinder 6 or the like, the width can be adjusted, and the state can be fixedly held.

The side plates 3b are arranged on the left and right sides of the squeegee squeegee 3, and are fixedly suspended from one of the housings 5 and 50.
Slidably in contact with The side plate 3b is a plate 3a,
Considering that 3a swings, it has a rectangular or substantially trapezoidal shape having a predetermined width before and after. Although the side plate 3b comes into contact with the screen 2 and the weight of the housing is applied to the screen 2, the gravure of the housing is not applied to the squeegee squeegee 3, so that the screen 2 is pressed against the substrate 1 and the printing accuracy is improved. To improve. Therefore, a support base (see reference symbol S in FIG. 1) for supporting the weight of the housing loaded by the side plates 3b, 3b is separately provided.

A fluid pressure cylinder 13 for air or the like is fixed to a top portion of the housing 50. The fluid pressure cylinder 13 is driven by electric power to suck air in the chamber 15 of the housing from the supply / discharge pipe 14 to make the chamber. The inside of the container 15 can be expanded to a required negative pressure, or the container 7 can be compressed by supplying air into the chamber 15 to increase the internal pressure. The fluid pressure cylinder 13 may be replaced with a fluid pump, and the fluid is not limited to air.

Therefore, in printing the coating material 9 on the screen 2, the necessary printing material 9 is stored in the container 7 by flowing naturally into the container 7 or by forcibly flowing it under an appropriate pressure. Can be Therefore, when printing is started, the fluid pressure cylinder 13 is driven to supply air from the supply / discharge pipe 14 to the chamber 15.
When the ink is supplied to the inside, the internal pressure of the chamber 15 increases and the container 7 is squeezed. When the printing material 9 is excessively discharged, the fluid pressure cylinder 13 is reversely driven to make the inside of the chamber 15 a negative pressure, so that the container 7 expands and sucks the printing material 9 near the printing material squeegee 3 upward.

A second embodiment of the present invention will be described.
As shown in FIG. 3, a plurality of fluid pressure cylinders 16, 17, 18 are fixed to the top of the housing 4 of the above-described embodiment, and supply / discharge pipes 19, 20, 2 connected to those cylinders, respectively.
1 is extended into the chamber 15, and elastic bags 22 and 23 are respectively connected to lower ends of the supply and discharge pipes 19 and 20.
It is opened inside 5. The inflatable bags 22 and 23 are balloon-shaped bags made of a tough material that can be expanded and contracted such as rubber, and their mouths are connected to lower ends of the supply / discharge pipes 19 and 20 so as not to come off. The other configuration is the same as that of the above-described embodiment.

Therefore, when printing the coating material 9 on the screen 2, the printing material 9 flows into the container 7 by natural flow or forcibly flowing down at an appropriate pressure.
Is sucked, and necessary royalties are stored in the container 7. Therefore,
When printing is started, when the fluid pressure cylinder 18 is driven to supply air from the supply / discharge pipe 20 into the elastic bag 23 by driving the fluid pressure cylinder 18 while driving the fluid pressure cylinder 18 to reduce the internal pressure of the chamber 15 to a negative pressure, The upper part of the container 7 is squeezed by the inflated elastic bag 23, and the printing material 9 moves to the lower part of the container 7. Then, the fluid pressure cylinder 16 is driven to supply air from the supply / discharge pipe 19 into the elastic bag 22. Then, the lower part of the container 7 is squeezed by the expanded elastic bag 22 and the printing material 9 is supplied to the printing material squeegee 3, so that the printing material 9 is squeezed out from the printing material squeegee 3 onto the screen 2. If the royalties 9 come out too much, the hydraulic cylinder 1
When the pressure in the inflatable bags 22 and 23 and the inside of the chamber 15 is reduced by reversely driving 6 to 19, the container 7 expands and sucks up the printing material 9 near the printing material squeegee 3 upward. In addition, the expansion / contraction bags 22, 23
Of the container 7 by appropriately combining the alternate expansion and contraction and the alternate repetition of positive pressure and negative pressure in the chamber 15.
Can repeatedly knead the printing material 9 in the container 7 by repeating expansion and contraction.

When the viscosity of the printing material 9 is high, as shown in FIG. 4, the elastic bags 25, 25 may be arranged at a predetermined distance below the slit 15 of the printing material squeegee 3. Good. In this case, when the elastic bags 25, 25 gradually inflate with each other near the squeegee squeegee 3, the neck of the container 7 is squeezed and the stencil 9 is squeezed out toward the squeegee squeegee 3. However, the squeegee 3 is smoothly pushed out onto the screen 2.

[0024]

According to the present invention described above, an elastic or flexible container accommodating a printing material is squeezed by a fluid pressure to supply a printing material in a printing method requiring a printing material having a high viscosity. Can be effectively performed, and the royalties squeezed out from the squeegee squeegee on the screen can be quantified and homogenized, and long-term continuous operation is possible.
The printing accuracy is homogenized and improved, and the printing operation can be stabilized. In addition to squeezing the printing material by fluid pressure, the thixotropic printing material in the container can be constantly kneaded by repeating the expansion and contraction of the elastic bag. Therefore, long-term continuous printing can be performed, and the operation can be stabilized.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional front view showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged sectional view of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional front view showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional front view showing a main part of a squeegee squeegee.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Insulating board 2 ... Screen 3 ... Squeeze squeegee 4 ... Housing 5, 50 ... Housing 7 ... Container 8 ... Tank 9 ... Royalty 11 ... Check valve 13, 16, 17, 18 ... Fluid pressure cylinder 14, 19, 20, 21 ... supply / discharge tube 15 ... chamber 22, 23, 25 ... elastic bag

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An elastic or flexible container having a royal squeegee attached to one end thereof is housed in a sealable room formed in a housing, and the squeegee is projected downward from the housing. A squeegee device for screen printing, comprising a fluid pressure generating device capable of changing a pressure to a required positive or negative pressure. 2. An elastic or flexible cylindrical container having one end opening connected to a royalties supply port and the other end opening connected to a royalties squeegee and housed in a housing, and the squeegee is housed in the housing. And a supply / drain pipe connected to the container and connected to an elastic bag capable of expanding and contracting so as to be able to contact and separate from the container is provided extending into the chamber, and supplies / discharges fluid to / from the supply / drain pipe. A squeegee device for screen printing, comprising a fluid pressure generating device connected thereto. 3. A plurality of elastic bags are arranged in the housing in a stepwise manner in a longitudinal direction of the container, and the elastic bags can be expanded and contracted from an upper stage to a lower stage or in the reverse order. The squeegee device for screen printing according to claim 2.